


pomegranate seeds

by technorat



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Fluff, Inspired by Hades and Persephone (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), M/M, Mythology - Freeform, benarmie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-21
Updated: 2019-12-21
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:47:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21881758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/technorat/pseuds/technorat
Summary: Ben was not stolen from his home amongst the hills and the clouds of Olympus. He fell, all on his own accord, into the arms of his lover.
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 15
Kudos: 70
Collections: Kylux Fanworks Secret Santa 2019





	pomegranate seeds

**Author's Note:**

  * For [marlonbookcase](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=marlonbookcase).



> Happy holidays to my secret santee (?) marloonbookcase !  
> Among the preferences were: romance, mythology, sweet fluff and I tried to mash it all together! I hope you enjoy!

Like all days, it was beautiful. The sun shone brightly overhead, grass tickled his feet. Brights fruits and flowers grew all over the earth. Birds sang and flew. Butterflies came flower to flower and then settled upon Ben’s brow.

Ben Solo was not happy.

He tore grass out by the fistful and tossed into into the air. He bore an awful grimace upon his face.

His mother, Leia, watched nearby, coaxing the plants to grow. Above them, surely, Han watched. The sky roiled with clouds but it did not rain.

There were other children of the Gods, but they did not come close to Ben. They whispered amongst each other, behind cupped hands. They plucked purple crocuses, royal blue irises, and sweet-smelling hyacinths and turned them into crowns. His mother allowed this, even as she had frowned at his own destructive behavior.

So Ben Solo wandered further, away from his mother’s eye, into the shade of weeping willows. Here, hidden behind thick, heavy leaves, he felt at peace. There was silence. There was shade. Ben sat beside the tree trunk and shut his eyes.

“And who might you be?” asks another boy. He’s the palest person Ben has ever seen, freckles across the bridge of his nose. His hair is as red as the dying sun. His eyes are as bright as the ocean.

Ben realizes that he has been staring for a while and, it seems, so has the other boy, who only lets out a tired sigh. “My name is Ben Solo,” he says, puffing himself up. “Who are you?”

The other boy rolls his eyes. “Armitage Hux,” he says, but only after a while.

“Hux?” Ben repeats. The sound of the name is so familiar. “Is this your hiding spot?”

Armitage scoffs again and does not answer.

“Where did you come from?” Ben asks. “I’ve never seen you before.” He thought he knew all of the other children of Olympus.

“Down,” Armitage says.

There, beneath the tangle of roots of the tree is a hole, just big enough for a child to crawl out of. It is dark and deep and, if Ben listened closely, he could hear the whistle of wind carrying the smell of smoke.

Armitage Hux came from Hades, the realm of the dead.

Ben shivered and smiles and talked more to the strange youth. 

*

Many days and many years passed in this way.

Ben’s only friend was Armitage and Armitage’s only friend was Ben. They met beneath the branches of the great withered willow and spoke for hours on end. Armitage was a quiet boy. Ben would share ambrosia he had pocketed from Olympus and watched as Armitage ate, not wasting even a crumb. There was a part of Armitage that was scared and hurt, Ben knew, but he would never let himself be seen as weak. But they were children and even children of the Gods could know sadness and tragedy.

Leia knew of Armitage, but only after a while, only after she gave Ben no choice. She sighed and tended to her duties, bringing seeds to life amongst the dirt. “His father is the guardian of the dead,” she said. “He is a very bad man.”

This Ben knew. This Ben could understand.

“His son will be the same.”

This Ben could not even begin to fathom.

*

And then one day, Armitage simply did not appear.

Ben waited.

Weeks passed.

And Armitage did not return.

*

Ben was not stolen from his mother as some stories say. He fell, down the hole, down the deep, dark nothingness.

He fell and fell for a long time. All around him was thick darkness, like his eyes were shut and he was still sleeping. When he stopped falling, he landed lightly on feet if he never fell. The air was thick with smoke and sulfur, but worst of all it was cold. Ben shivered and wrapped his arms around himself. His bare feet curled at the cold of the stone floor.

He wandered for a long while, seeing not much of anything.

And then he came across a tall throne made of obsidian.

Ben stared for a good long while and then approached. There was no one here and so he curled up atop the throne and went to sleep.

*

Ben did not know how long he had slept. He woke to a finger prodding at his cheek.

“That isn’t your throne,” Armitage said, scowling, always scowling.

“Armie!” Ben said, awake all at once. He leapt from where he’d been inelegantly sprawling and captured Armitage in a fierce hug. He held the other boy close and wept into his fire-red hair. “I thought you were gone.”

Armitage was stiff in his hold for a moment too long before hesitantly petting the other boy’s head. “Idiot,” Armitage said, but there was a certain softness to his voice. He pulled away and looked around, scanning the throne room for something. “What are you doing here, Ben?” he asked quietly. “Your mom will worry.”

“What happened to you?” Ben asked instead. “Why didn’t you come visit? We’re friends, aren’t we?”

He had thought something terrible had happened or, perhaps, that Armitage didn’t like him anymore. Most of the kids of Olympus didn’t, no matter what Leia said otherwise.

“My father…” Armitage trailed off and looked again to the throne. “He disappeared.”

Leaving Armitage alone with the throne and crown of Hades.

“I could not leave my responsibilities,” Armitage said stiffly, like he was trying to convince himself.

“So?” Ben said. “I’ll visit you then.”

*

Many days and many years passed again. No longer did they meet below the branches of a weeping willow but instead the met here, at the heart of Hades. The ghosts, mere whisps of human souls, welcomed Ben and basked in his light. Ben brought with him little things like ambrosia and flowers and sweets. It was well worth it to bring a smile to Armitage’s face.

They grew up from the children they had been to Gods.

Less and less did Ben associate with the others of Olympus, to his mother’s despair. But Leia did not intervene because he was still there, upon the green earth, and he was happy.

Ben grew flowers on the way to Hades, great big things with fat white petals. He collected the brown leaves and made tea from them, Armitage’s favorite. This is where we get tarine tea, from the deep, dark caverns that led down below, to where Ben and Armitage made their home.

*

There was one fruit that grew in Hades all on its own: a lonely pomegranate tree. It nearly bent all the way down to the ground with the weight of its fruit.

No one knows who picked it first, just that Ben and Armitage split it open and ate the seeds together before sharing a kiss, their mouths reddened from the fruit.

Ben was not stolen from his home amongst the hills and the clouds of Olympus. He fell, all on his own accord, into the arms of his lover.

*

*

*


End file.
